Wedding Wednesday: Your Favorite Bridal Gown of 2011

As we wind down and look back upon what really has been the Year of the Royal Wedding, it's only natural to ask...

Which is your favorite 2011 royal wedding gown?

Catherine Middleton married Prince William of Wales

Princess Nathalie of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg married Alexander Johannsman

Charlene Wittstock married Prince Albert II of Monaco

Zeina Shaban married Prince Rashid bin El Hassan of Jordan

Zara Phillips married Mike Tindall

Princess Sophie of Isenburg married Prince Georg Friedrich of Prussia

Jetsun Pema married the King of Bhutan

Vote here!

Your favorite 2011 gown?
	Catherine Middleton
	Princess Nathalie
	Charlene Wittstock
	Zeina Shaban
	Zara Phillips
	Princess Sophie
	Jetsun Pema
pollcode.com free polls

2011 in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge

Best of the Year

Boom! The late entry wins the game at the buzzer! Yeah, I lurve it. The dress is just divine, I think this is the most flattering thing she wore the whole year. Like so many of you noted, I have some reservations about the necklace (I'd take the ruby flower deals off, that's too wee and twee for my tastes), but: she wore it. And what did I say about that? Step 1: put the diamonds on. Step 2: do other things. Here's hoping for a blingy new year!

Runners Up

I love a killer shoe and I love purple - these are not secrets well kept. Therefore, the very first Kate appearance of the year must make my list of runners up. Nods also go to what I found to be two of her most young, fresh, and feminine takes on the old school jacket and dress/skirt combo, the blue and black and the crochet look (which I know some of you will very much disagree with me on). At the time of the big tour, I favored her lilac Roksanda Ilicnic dress, but fickle me has now switched my affections to the twirly purple McQueen. The pink Jenny Packham was actually going to be my #1 until the black velvet slinked in at the buzzer because, well, I love a sparkly "Look at me!" number. I just do. Sue me.

And then there's the wedding gown. The wedding gown is in here simply because I recognize that it would be ludicrous not to include it, though I still agree with my first impressions. Thus, I include my favorite view: the train, which is and was perfection.

Worst of the Year

Nobody has a perfect year, alas. I thought about the Salmon Stella, which is probably the only thing I'd call an actual hot mess for the Duchess' whole year, and I thought about a couple of the entirely oatmeal ones - seriously, contrast is your friend - but I'm giving my title to the Alexander McQueen outfit worn to visit the aftermath of the riots. And that actually has nothing to do with how the thing looks (though I do stand by my initial assessment, which was: work it or go home).

No, this is about public relations. Katemania dictates that everything she wears will be analyzed to death and just a hair beyond that, and there's nothing she can do to stop it. It's a monster, and it's coming for all of us. But the newest Duchess on the block is a careful player in the sartorial game. She's done her best to restrain the debate over her outfits...except for this one. Debuting a pricey ensemble on this particular occasion was a misstep. I don't care if it personally offended you or not (it didn't bother me), but it was a rare PR mistake, and for that, I hereby dub it the Worst of the Year.

Which outfits make your best and worst lists for Catherine in 2011?

Photos: Daylife/Getty Images/Hello/AP

Week in Review: Princess Letizia, 18-24 December

Here's what Letizia wore from 18-24 December:

1. Audiences at Zarzuela Palace, 20 December.
2. Attending a Cirque du Soleil performance, 23 December. Purple all around! Banner week by default.

Photos: Zimbio/Hola

New Year Shenanigans

2011 is almost over, can you believe it? (No.) It's time to glance back at the year behind us and start looking ahead to the next, friends.

2011 in Review

Starting tomorrow, we begin wrapping up the year. Each royal lady that receives a Week in Review post here will also get a 2011 in Review post with my picks for her best and worst outfits. Start racking your brains, I'll be eager to hear your picks as well. Our other features this week will also have a year in review theme to them, because a little nostalgia never hurt anyone.

What's Coming Up in 2012

If 2011 was the Year of the Royal Wedding, 2012 is shaping up to be the Year of the Jubilee. I'm sure we're all looking forward to the events surrounding Queen Elizabeth's Diamond Jubilee, but Queen Margrethe will go first with the celebrations for her Ruby Jubilee (that's a whopping 40 years on the throne).

Since there are so many jubilee celebrations, I thought it might be somewhat entertaining to take a look back at how some of our favorite sovereigns got there in the first place. Every monarchy handles the ceremony of inducting a new head differently; some are somber, some are glittering, many are a mix. As we hit the anniversaries of some of those ascensions, we'll be looking back to where they began. We'll also glance back at how they've celebrated their jubilees to date, to add a little context to this year's various celebrations.

There's just loads going on in the coming royal year, so to help us all keep it straight, I've added a new page to the blog: Upcoming Events. This is a brief listing of the biggest royal events throughout the year (not every individual appearance, mind you, just those that usually get special coverage here in one way or another). Right now it has events we know are coming up, some of the big anniversaries and birthdays coming up, plus those annual shindigs that received a Royal Fashion Awards post from me in 2011. Further events will be added and detailed as the year goes on.

(Psst: Links to the calendar and our other pages can be found right below the header above. If you've never explored those, you'll find a page to help you figure out who's who when you have no idea who we're on about, a page of links to all the wedding themed stuff we've discussed here, a page with links to all the jewels we've talked about, and the site commenting policy.)

It's been ever so much fun chatting with you kids this year, I do hope you'll stick around for the nonsense and sparkle to come!

Week in Review: The Duchess of Cambridge, 18-24 December

Here's what Catherine wore from 18-24 December:

1. Arriving for the annual big fat royal Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, 19 December. Anybody up for a round of Caption This? Here's my entry: "I'm in a car, the windows are blurred with rain, you can't see past my shoulders...are you seriously going to try and analyze my outfit? Seriously?"
2. a) At The Sun Military Awards, 19 December, in a b) a custom Alexander McQueen. Delish, still.
3. a) Visiting Centrepoint, 21 December, in b) a Ralph Lauren sweater dress. Would've stuck with the brown accessories myself, but I think black is her default. But what's the point of getting all dressed up when you're just going to be out-dorked by your hubs anyway?

While the world awaits a lil' Cambridge announcement, Prince William perfects his embarrassing dad dance moves.

Photos: Daylife/Getty Images/Net-a-porter/Ralph Lauren

Week in Review: Crown Princess Victoria, 18-24 December

Here's what Victoria wore from 18-24 December:

1. Attending the annual formal gathering of the Swedish Academy at the Stock Exchange in Stockholm, 20 December. Well, I mean, if you're going to go this far...tiara it up, man! I know, I know, that's the dress code's fault. Anyway, V gets points for adding a little hair bling, and also for wearing a dress that fits! Yay.

Photo: Svenskdam

Royal Fashion Awards: A Very Royal Christmas 2011

Well ho, ho, ho, friends: Christmas brought some of our favorite royals out to play. With Prince Philip still hospitalized but reportedly in good spirits, the British hit church on Christmas morning at Sandringham; meanwhile, Christmas Eve services were attended by the royal families in Norway and Denmark. It was an understated holiday all around, but that's never stopped us before...

Best Pass

Queen Elizabeth 

 Christmas without your spouse at your side? Pass. Wear whatever you like, QEII. Carry on.

Best in Festive

The Duchess of Cambridge

Left to Right: Princess Eugenie, The Duchess of Cambridge, Zara Phillips. Click to enlarge.

On a low-key holiday, those that made an effort shall be commended. Eugenie is awarded for adding some Christmas-y color in, while Zara gets points for turning in the required amount of hat flair for a British royal event. Only Catherine did both, though, with her gorgeous wine coat and déjà vu hat. She wins the most festive award of the day.

Worst in Mismatched

The Duchess of Cornwall

L to R: The Duchess of Cornwall, The Princess Royal

Oh, the combos. Anne's slightly off hat-to-coat combo (what season are we in again?) is no match to what I am pretty sure are army green boots on Camilla. What a mishmash duo...and somehow, I'd expect no more from either.

Best in Plaid, Tartan, etc., etc.

Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor

L to R: Autumn Phillips, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, Queen Margrethe, Crown Princess Mary

I suppose there's a certain festiveness to a good tartan...alas, certain things are never quite as charming past a certain age. Lady Louise was cute as a button, Queen Margrethe was Queen Margrethe, and Autumn and Mary sadly furthered two of my least favorite trends right now: short maternity tents, and anything resembling a SHOOTIE. Sigh.

Best in Miniature Headgear

Margarita Armstrong-Jones

L to R: Princess Ingrid Alexandra, Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Princess Isabella

This one's the hardest to award, by far. Ingrid's cute bow? Isabella's adorable purple? It's gotta be Margarita with the combo for the win.

Best in Understated

Princess Beatrice

L to R: Crown Princess Mette-Marit, Queen Sonja, Princess Beatrice, Lady Sarah Chatto

Ingrid's bow really was the best part of the whole Christmas appearance from the Norwegian royals, with Mette-Marit and Sonja blending right in. Lady Sarah did the same, but then again, understated is a permanent state for her. Understated is not at all Princess Beatrice's regular mode, but she managed to pull out the best-coordinated look of the non-looks.

Best in Retro

The Countess of Wessex

L to R: The Countess of Wessex, Viscountess Linley

Retro's tricky to do sometimes. Sophie's almost there, just a wee bit bigger on that pill box and we'd've had it, but Serena...well, she overdosed, poor dear. Though I'll say this: that's a hat.

Who made your best- and worst-dressed list this year?

Photos: Chris Jackson/Getty Images/Zimbio/Daylife/Belga/Newspix